Wing Shooting Safaris in South Africa
By offering nearly 18 species of wild upland, waterfowl, and migratory game birds through our Wing Shooting Safaris, we will show you the vast bird hunting experiences and variety South Africa has to offer. All of our birds are wild and native to South Africa. The key to our success has been our Bush Scouts, who are continuously reporting on the game birds, their behavior, and above all, their location.
All of our Wing Shooting Safaris are tailor-made to your preferences, taking into consideration the time of year and our Scouts’ reports.
Game Bird Species & Hunting Methods
Upland Game Birds
Swainson’s Spurfowl, Crested, Natal, Shelley’s & Coqui Francolin, hunted over German and English Pointers. The Francolin is similar in size and behavior to Spanish or Hungarian Partridge & offers the highest quality of shooting experience. Whilst usually not a difficult target, good dogs are essential, as a fast-moving group of hunters will walk straight over these cryptically cultured birds, a slow amble is recommended – the classical “day in the sun with dog and a gun”
Helmeted Guineafowl; a prolific Game Bird found all over South Africa sometimes in flocks up to 200 birds. Best to shoot on a driven hunt with beaters and retrievers.
Waterfowl
Spurwing Goose is one of the largest waterfowl in the world but it is not a goose, but a tree duck. Be this as it may, it remains the ultimate African water fowler’s trophy, weighing up to 9 kg. (20lbs) Egyptian Geese, Yellow-Billed duck – a streamlined mallard in size and shape, responding to calling and decoys. Red-Billed Teal, African Shell Duck; White Faced Whistling & Knob Billed Duck are permitted in some provinces.
All waterfowl are shot from grass blinds at the edge of ponds and marshes over decoys. Our waterfowl are not migratory and therefore a lot depends on crops and the harvest each year. We have areas that feed our waterfowl year round.
Dove & Pigeon
3 Species mainly, the large Rock (Speckled) Pigeon, Red Eyed Pigeon, and Cape Turtle Dove provide challenging shooting, where bag limits are not as restrictive due to the classification as crop damaging wildlife.
At the right time of year, this can be true “hot barrel” shooting as flocks of a dozen to a couple of hundred birds sweep in low and incredibility fast over the fields.
Bag Limits
Bag limits are set by Wildlife & Conservation Departments and at the Outfitters and Landowner’s discretion. No limit on Doves and Pigeon. Guineafowl 10 / gun /day. Francolin 6 / gun / day. Waterfowl 10 / gun / day. Seasonal and depending on the province.
Duration & Season
Seasons are determined by Provincial Governments each year, but the best time will be between March and the end of September. We suggest a 5 or 8 day safari, with the option to extend your trip with a photographic safari – “Delay Your Departure™”
Dove & Pigeon
March-May, to coincide with the harvesting of sunflowers
Guineafowl & Francolion
May-September, depending on the rains and grass cover
Waterfowl
May-August
Mixed bags, more birds
Recently, we designed a bespoke Wing Shooting Safari for a valued customer and his friends. From having chosen morning or afternoons of challenging and migrating Rock pigeons and doves (where during the right time of year, up to 1000 shots can be fired), to mornings or afternoons of wild upland game birds; such as Swanson’s Spur Fowl, Crested Francolin, Helmeted Guinea Fowl, and Natal Spur Fowl, among others.
In addition, they also chose mornings for Egyptian geese and late evenings for ducks. All in all, a truly mixed bag journey that offered quality over quantity and boasted of a great variety of game birds.
